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Concert venue plans for former UC Theater on track

BERKELEY, CA — As reported on August 18 plans to convert the UC Theater in Berkeley are moving along. Although the theater was never a “palace,” the new owners are preserving many architectural details according to this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, which includes some pre-renovation pictures.

Gone will be the dusty blue velvet seats, but the rest of the UC’s mish-mash decor will likely be preserved, Mayeri said. That includes the Egyptian Art Deco trim, the tulip murals and the ornate grillwork encasing the organ loft.

The 1917 building has already been seismically retrofit and outfitted with sprinklers, so most of the renovation work will be soundproofing and cosmetic, Mayeri said.

In the case of the UC, “cosmetic” is a broad term. Unlike other historic single-screen movie palaces around the Bay Area, the UC lacks many gleaming adornments and gilded flourishes. The theater was gutted in a fire in the 1940s and rebuilt with a decidedly spartan motif.